OK, before offering a formal apology to the estate of Clement Clarke Moore, let me point out what I hope is obvious—the holidays are upon us. With them comes the December issue of Certification Magazine and our annual CertMag Salary Survey. I may have gotten a little cheeky in my loving ode, but I’m happy to report the message is once again accurate—certification absolutely impacts the bottom line of your career.

As we do every December, we’re rolling out results of our annual Salary Survey, and they are positive. We’ve got data in the pages that follow that shows certification pays off, that proves it increases loyalty, that determines it’s a valuable investment at all stages of IT careers. Our survey this year is the biggest yet, with nearly 20,000 IT professionals providing data to help you benchmark yourself against industry averages both domestic and international.

I won’t keep going on here, because I’m sure you’ll want to check out the data for yourself. See the story at www.certmag.com/salaries, and I’ll be anxious to hear your thoughts on the matter. As always, write me at tsosbe@certmag.com.